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Evans School of Public Policy & Governance

Tag: Alison Cullen

Mourning the Loss of William D. Ruckelshaus

Last week, our nation lost a remarkable statesman and true public servant, William D. Ruckelshaus. My first job out of undergrad was with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Boston office, while Bill Ruckelshaus served as the big boss in DC, having returned to the EPA for his second term.  It was a challenging time for public service, in some ways it was similar to today. It was a period of rapid development; a time when people were skeptical about institutions, concerned with transparency and potential conflicts of interest, and deeply focused on social justice.

During that time, Bill Ruckelshaus committed the EPA to open communication with the public and to strategies aimed at preventing conflicts of interest.  He ensured that input from ALL sectors would be heard when making decisions.  He understood the potential and the promise of these safeguards and partnerships to help our government work better for everyone.

Several years before, Bill demonstrated steadfast moral courage while serving at the highest levels of national government during a constitutional crisis in the Watergate era.  Bill’s resoluteness, his unwavering commitment to truth and justice, set a shining example then, and inspires us anew today.

I am deeply grateful to Bill for his dedication to public service and hope you will join me in reflecting on the ways his courage shaped the ethical grounding of our field, the future of our region, and the health of our planet.

The Evans School has long been proud to be a university partner of the Ruckelshaus Center, which embodies Bill’s values of promoting and facilitating collaborative governance and public problem solving. We will continue to honor his legacy in support of the Center’s work developing collaborative and durable solutions to complex policy challenges.

Sincerely,

Alison C. Cullen

This week, Professor Alison Cullen begins her term as interim dean of the Evans School.

Cullen has served the Evans School with distinction since she joined the faculty in 1995, including terms as associate dean and graduate program coordinator. She has published many scholarly works related to her research areas, which focus on environmental and human health policy, wildfire risk management and climate impacts. She also holds adjunct professor appointments in the School of Public Health and the College of the Environment.

“I would like to express my appreciation and my optimism about the year ahead. I am honored and humbled to have been selected to serve as interim dean of the Evans School,” she emphasized, “I look forward continuing Dean Archibald’s efforts to sustain the Evans School as one of the nation’s leading public affairs institutions.”

Cullen is the recipient of the Society for Risk Analysis Distinguished Educator Award, has twice received the Evans Student Organization Excellence in Instruction Award and received the 2016 Evans School Dean’s Outstanding Teaching Award. Among her numerous awards and recognitions for scholarship, Cullen was an NSF Faculty Fellow in the Advanced Study Program at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a visiting fellow at Boston’s Health Effects Institute and the recipient of the Society of Toxicology Award for a Publication Demonstrating Applied Risk Assessment. She is active in risk assessment and management efforts in the U.S. and internationally, including serving on the Science Advisory Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and conducting wildfire risk management research with the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

“After 24 years, my passion for our great school is reinforced by my excitement to serve as interim dean in a critical period for scholarship and action in the public and nonprofit sectors,” she said. “The Evans School has a proud history of excellence in providing evidence-based solutions to societal challenges, and an inspiring future rising from a passionate call for justice, equity and inclusion in public policy and governance.”

Cullen received her bachelor’s in civil/environmental engineering from MIT and holds both a Master of Science in environmental health science, exposure assessment and engineering and a doctor of science in environmental health management from Harvard University School of Public Health, where she also previously served on the faculty. 

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Professor Alison Cullen Named Interim Dean of the Evans School

Alison Cullen has been named interim dean of the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, Provost Mark A. Richards announced earlier this month. Her appointment, set to begin Sept. 1, is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents.

Cullen currently holds the Daniel J. Evans Endowed Professorship of Public Policy and Governance and is a decorated scholar and long-serving faculty member.

“President Cauce and I are so grateful to Alison for bringing her leadership experience and commitment to excellent teaching and scholarship with impact to her leadership of the Evans School, and we appreciate the widespread and enthusiastic support for her appointment among our faculty colleagues,” Richards said.

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